French metallic guitar with resonator

[fran]

hi
I'm a new registered
I'm looking for any informations about French metallic guitar with resonator build in the 60's and 70's by (as i heard) SELMER and BEUSCHER
this guitar is a national style single cone and biscuit

[LouisianaGrey]

The only reference I have seen was this


on the IGS Forum at www.guitarseminars.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/009733.html

[Michael Messer]

Hi Fran,

That is correct that resophonic guitars were made in France in the 1950s. Mike Lewis of 'Fine Resophonic' Guitars in Paris had some of them in the late 1980s, but I haven't seen one for many years. He sold one to a musician based in Berkshire, Richard Cox-Smith, but I don't know if he still has it.

Mike knows the facts about Selmer/Beuscher guitars, maybe he will write something for the forum.

Shine On,
Michael.

[mark makin]

Let me pass on some information for you, originally from Cyril Lefebvre:

"Paul Beuscher S.A., the most important general music store in Paris originally sold wooden hawaiian guitars that were made for him in Remiremont. He discovered a large market in the french African colonies for metal guitars that would work in the deletirious climate there. In 1953 he started by asking Theo Ruiz to build a copy of a Duolian in brass with a round neck. 400 of these were made until 1969, most went to Africa - perhaps a quarter stayed in Paris or went to England. The great African singer Kouyate Sory KAndia always played a Beuscher resophonic.
In 1963, Theo Ruiz built 40 Jazz guitars (these had a cutaway body) and a few tenor guitars ( I suspect this is the one that Pete shows in his picture - also with the same body as the JAzz model). He apparently made some steel Duolians in 1971 but I've never seen any of these. There are pressed back models and flat back models - the flat back is susprisingly the later model made up to 1969. Apparently cone production became a problem and production stopped because of it."

These instruments all carry the SB symbol on the back of the machine heads, a long headstock, inclined f holes and a tailpiece from the same source as Selmer jazz guitars. In the Beuscher catalogue for 1969 both the Duolian type and Jazz models sold for 620 Francs.
As a postscript, Mike Lewis of Fine Resophonics found what appears to be the last batch of 10 of these instruments in a Paris cellar - still boxed - brand new except for lack of cones. We fitted them with National cones and sold them. They wer numbered inside the body - scratched into the back under the well - I believe they were 62 - 72.

Cyril has some more information about other types of french resonators -
"In 1971, Gilbert Caranhac, who used to play bluegrass music on a Beuscher came back from the States with Dobro parts and commissioned Favino (who built fine acoustics for great french artists - jazz archtops) to build him a type of Dobro Model 60 with a square neck and grtovers. It sounded great so I acquired the same parts from Dobro and asked FAvino to build the same with round neck. FAvino went on to build another 10 - all with spiders. In 1974 Favino was asked by Alain Roux to build a kind of Trojan with a mahogany body. Beuscher did not want to help with coverplates so they were made by R. Carbon. - fine instruments"

If I've whetted your appoetite for these things - I recommend you get off to West Africa - most of them are there!! (Mind you they're probably all beaten into cooking pots by now!!)

[Michael Messer]

Thanks for that information Mark. Here is the catalogue picture that you emailed to me...



Shine On,
Michael.

[Colin Brooks]

I played one of these in a shop in Shaftsbury Avenue in 1968 or 69. I think they cost about £110 then.

I have a picture of Cyril playing one on his 1977 LP 'Cocaine Blues'. The headstock is totally different. It is flat, not slotted, and the shape is more like a Ric. B6 than anything else I can think of. It could be a replacement. These guitars have a reputation for neck problems.

Colin McCubbin picked one up on ebay a few years back. From what I remember of the auction pics. the cover plate looked different to the catalogue pics. Mark posted. The centre part of the plate was dished downwards as I remember it.

Colin Brooks

[Alan]

Another crime solved by the Chrysanthemum Brothers!

[mark makin]

Hello Colin
I have sent Michael two pics for inclusion which might be the ones you refer to.
Apparently the dished coverplate models and the flat headstock models resulted from an inferior quality short run made after the cessation of production in 1969 - thought to be about 1971. They were remade briefly because of a resurgence of Bluegrass music in Paris at this time.
The source for this is again Cyril Lefebvre
Best wishes
Mark

[Michael Messer]

These photos were sent by Mark Makin....thanks Mark!

Shine On,
Michael.

[Michael Messer]

Hi Alan,

The Chrysanthemum Brothers only did a couple of mini tours, I guess this would have been 1991/2. Not a very practical way for two guys to travel; 2 x style 4 round necks, 1 x style 4 sq-neck, 1 x style 3 sq-neck, 1 x style N, 1 x duolian, I x triolian and a beautiful mandolin that is now owned by Ronnie Wood. We must have been crazy to turn up at pubs with that lot

Shine On,
Michael.